Aerospace
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Rural Airport Subsidies: How Far Is Too Far?
As the crow flies, the Hagerstown Regional Airport (HGR) in Maryland is 64 miles from the much busier runways of Baltimore Washington International (BWI), to its east. How far a drive is it, though? And more importantly, how far is it in political terms? Under the Essential Air Service program enacted in 1978, federal subsidies [...]
August 08, 2011 |
By Roger Mola
The First Photographer in Space
Yuri Gagarin, incredibly, didn’t carry a camera on the world’s first spaceflight. Neither did Alan Shepard nor Gus Grissom, whose 15-minute suborbital shots followed Gagarin’s April 1961 launch by three weeks and three months, respectively. The American astronauts were photographed during their missions, but only by automated cameras mounted in the Mercury capsule. So it [...]
August 05, 2011 |
By Tony Reichhardt
Exotic volcanoes on the Moon
The flood of new data from the Moon continues to enlighten and puzzle lunar scientists. Members of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera team have noticed an unusual landform on the far side of the Moon that was as unexpected as it might be significant. We’ve known for many years that early in its history, the [...]
August 03, 2011 |
By Paul D. Spudis
D.B. Cooper (Still) Missing
After investigating a thousand suspects since a person who called himself (or herself) D.B. Cooper skyjacked a Boeing 727 on November 24, 1971, the FBI thought it finally had a “credible” tip. Until last night, that is, when CBS News reported that the Cooper lead had fizzled and the FBI was expected to formally rule [...]
August 02, 2011 |
By Roger Mola
As the Asteroid Turns
Scientists unveiled the first full closeup of the asteroid Vesta today. The picture, stitched together from frames taken by the Dawn spacecraft from a distance of 3,200 miles on July 24, shows mysterious parallel grooves around the asteroid’s middle, which may have formed when Vesta contracted, then expanded after a giant impact early in its [...]
August 01, 2011 |
By Tony Reichhardt
Patty Wagstaff’s Second Act
An airshow superstar adds firefighting to her repertoire.
August 2011 |
By Debbie Gary
Ride-Sharing With the Rich
How fractional jet owners get out of flying coach.
August 2011 |
By David Freed
Spaceport at the Top of the World
How an ore-mining town in Sweden sees a new identity over the horizon.
August 2011 |
By Andrew Curry
Mr. Inside
George Abbey had more influence on human spaceflight than almost anyone in history, but few outside the field know his name.
August 2011 |
By Michael Cassutt
Genchi’s Obsession
A grad student in Italy salvages Germany's rarest World War I airplane engines.
August 2011 |
By Andrew Lawler
The Perfect Wind Storm
In the 1950s, engineers at Cleveland's brand-new supersonic wind tunnel battled shock waves, unstarts, and the local power company.
August 2011 |
By Jeremy Davis
Flights and Fancy: How I Bagged an F-4J
Who would think a kite could down a fighter?
August 2011 |
By Michael Barton
Last One Out, Shut off the Helium
Fifty years ago, the Navy ended its lighter-than-air program.
August 2011 |
By George C. Larson, Member, NAA
Above and Beyond: Mantz Versus the Volcano
Filming for Cinerama with a fearless flyer.
August 2011 |
By James Morrison
In the Museum: My Vostok Is Bigger Than Your Mercury
Launching two very different capsules—and a space race.
August 2011 |
By Rebecca Maksel
A & S Interview: Ron Davies
A former museum curator of air transport rallies for high-speed rail.
August 2011 |
By Pat Trenner
Visions Don’t Pass Away – A Tribute to John Marburger
Recently deceased John H. Marburger, former Science Advisor to President George W. Bush and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, had a long and distinguished career as a scientist, an administrator and public servant. I knew him through his advocacy and involvement in the development of the Vision for Space [...]
July 30, 2011 |
By Paul D. Spudis
